The precise positioning and guidance of vehicles is important in many venues for many different types of vehicles. The precise positioning of vehicles can enables users to save time and money, consume less fuel, and mitigate impacts on the environment. For instances, in the case of farm equipment, an operator typically must maneuver back and forth across the fields in order to plow, fertilize, and harvest crops. A significant overlap is maintained on each pass (through) (a round) since it may be difficult for a user to properly line up the tractor. In the case of airplanes, when pulling up to a gate, ground crew is needed to properly align the aircraft. In case of inclement weather, such as lightning, ground crew may be unable to work outside and precisely guide the aircraft to the gate. Therefore, gas, time and money are wasted while the airplane waits for the weather to improve.
Specifically, lightning can cause significant delays for airlines. During lightning events at airports, aircraft service personnel must vacate the exposed outdoor area, and proceed to the safety of a building, to prevent injury or death from a lightning strike. The traditional method for parking an aircraft at an aircraft docking area, performed with the assistance of trained ground personnel. Since ground personnel must seek safety during a lightning event, parking of an aircraft is delayed until the threat of lightning ceases. This means that each aircraft, and flight deck crew, must be ready to park between lightning events.
Lightning event delays can last a few minutes or several hours. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation and the FAA Aviation System Performance Metrics Database, the cost of delays for aircraft operations is over $60 per minute. Add to that the cost of a “domino effect” to an airline's schedule such as late passengers, their bags and cargo, connections, reroutes, cancellations, hotels, meals, ground-based employee overtime pay, etc. It becomes possible that each hour spent waiting to park an aircraft at the gate can cost $10,000 or more. The FAA also estimates delays cost passengers and shippers $34.88 per hour on average. Passenger comfort and confidence is eroded, and the result for the airline is lost future revenue.
In respect to agriculture, university studies have shown agricultural equipment operators tend to overlap 5 to 10 percent over the course of an entire day, which could mean up to 4 feet of overlap with a 40-foot implement for each row covered. This costs additional fuel, fertilizer, seed, chemicals, equipment wear and time might cost the average operation.
Other areas also incur additional costs resulting from the imprecise alignment of vehicles, such as cargo loading and vehicle parking.